Dappled
by GreyLiliy
Summary: Leon finally finds D in Japan and gets more than he bargined for from the not so mysterious Count D and his latest stalker, Taizu. [End of Series Spoilers]
1. Prologue

This is brought to you from a combination of inspirations including both finally finishing the Pet Shop of Horrors manga and reading an extra from the Shin Pet Shop of Horrors (Thank you Night Exile for Scanlations!) where Leon was looking for D in Germany. I've been itching to do something for this series since I fell in love with it over the summer last year. Thanks for reading! Long live Pet Shop of Horrors! 

-Edit: Fixed a couple of typos.

**Dappled**

** Prologue**

"He's in Japan."

Leon's eyes snapped open as a very familiar voice echoed in his ears. His descent to the ground was rather undignified and left Leon's face in the pavement. He had to hold his nose as he turned up to see a very familiar face to match the voice looking down at him. A familiar face that he'd been searching all over the world for. "It's you!"

"Shinjuku Kabuki-chou, to be exact." Count D smirked a little as the good detective sputtered from his place on the ground. Sneaking up on him while he was daydreaming on a bench had been a good idea.

Leon took a good look at the man standing before him and finally took notice of the dark cloak hanging off his shoulders. He should have known his luck wasn't that good. Leon stared at the D look-a-like for a minute before pulling himself off the ground. He reached inside his jacket for a cigarette that he knew he was going to need. "You're the grandfather am I right? Who was hanging out as Q-chan."

"That is correct, though my name is Count D. You could have the good graces to use it now that you know."

"Q-chan sounds just as good to me." Leon pat some dust off his jeans before asking the question that was on his mind. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Such language for an officer. And my dear grandson tried so hard to teach you some etiquette, too."

Leon growled at the smirking face in front of him. Whether he was a flying rodent or a Count the man was still annoying as hell. "That didn't answer my question."

"I'd think it was obvious why I was here, and I've already done what I came to do." The Count smirked and turned with his cloak flowing in the wind to walk away.

"What the hell!" Leon made a grab for the hanging garment and swung the other man back around. Keeping a hold on the guy, as useless a move as that is considering it's a D, Leon continued with his badgering. If the detective was anything, it was persistent and he could care less about the attention he was drawing to themselves. "And what exactly did you do other than show up to piss me off like you usually do?"

"I told you where my grandson is, didn't I?"

Leon had to stare at the sickeningly sweet smile that he had grown to get used to seeing on his own Count D and it hit him like a brick just why the grandfather had come to pay him a visit. "He's in Japan? That Kabuki-chou place?"

"You can listen!" Count D pat Leon on the head. "Such a good boy."

"I'm not a dog you bastard! Knock it off!" Leon smacked the hand away. Count D's grandfather or not, Leon could still only saw the little bat-thing he would fuss with on a daily basis. Much as he hated to admit it, he felt like he knew this Count as well as his own exasperating Count. "Why are you helping me now anyway?"

"That is a good question." Count D shook Leon's hand off of his cape and put a finger to his lips. "Maybe I was tired of you always missing him by a few days or weeks. Your luck truly is horrible."

"Okay, that still doesn't explain why you'd want me to find him in the first place, though." Leon frowned and crossed his arms. The sound of the fountain water flowing in the background kept a steady rhythm as he waited for an answer. By now the audience they had attracted had filtered off to their own business wherever they had to go for the day in a park.

"I wouldn't quite say 'want' if I were to fully describe it." Count D smiled softly a bit. "Call it more like 'returning a favor,' I guess you could say. You did save my grandson from a few scraps in the day, or at least tried, and you kept him company. That deserves a little reward, even if you are a human."

Leon started laughing suddenly and gave a huge grin. "That sounds so weird coming from a guy I fought with every time I went to visit. I don't know which one of you was worse, Q-chan or that goat thing."

"Ah, I think we were getting along fine there towards the end, though I think that might have been more Chris' influence than your own. Such a good boy, your brother."

"Got that right." Leon grinned and scratched his hair out. The detective had learned long ago to never expect anything like logic from the D family. "Thanks for the tip old man. Want me to give your grandson your regards when I pop in to punch his lights out?"

"If you would be so kind. Though, I have a feeling he'll be angry with me for telling you where he ran off to this time." The Count turned from Leon and began walking away with a slight smirk on his face. It was time things got riled up for his grandson anyway. "Good luck, Mr. Detective."

Leon smirked as he watched the ageless Count D disappear into the crowd of people with his creepy cape flapping behind him. So his own Count D was in Japan hiding was he? Well, there was nothing that was going to deter this detective this time! He'd been looking for the man far to long to let this one chance slip through his fingers.


	2. Chapter 1

It's amazing, I wrote something not angsty! This hasn't happened for me for a while, so do enjoy a bit lighter reading. Thanks for the reviews and reading!

** Chapter 1**

"I can assure you Taizu, again, this is a pet shop and nothing more." D chuckled as his companion fumed over a cup of tea. This was his sixth attempt this week at catching a whore or a slave walk out of his shop. As per usual, he had gotten caught in the act with little to no effort. D smiled to himself. Humans never learned and certain ones proved to be particularly stubborn. "Our pets are perfectly legal."

"I say that about all of my business practices, too." Taizu matched D chuckle for chuckle in between bites of cake. The count was not going to get the best of him today. This cross dressing charlatan was going down and he would make sure of it. "So we all know just how much that phrase means in my Kabuki-chou."

Count D was tempted to roll his eyes, but kept his posture regardless. He'd dealt with far more stubborn individuals than Taizu and knew the man would eventually give up, for today at the very least. The fact Taizu had some decent manners compared to other individuals, however, was a tiny blessing. The Count reached set his cup gently down onto it's matching saucer before reaching for a truffle. He had to admit though, it was amusing watching Taizu get his feathers ruffled. He seemed to be a man unused to failure. "Well, unlike you I have done none of what you accuse me. You are truly wasting your precious time as I have nothing to hide from you in this shop."

"Ha, like I'd believe that for a second." Taizu smirked and crossed his arms while leaning back into the chair. "I'm going to prove you've got a slave ring, or prostitution ring, or whatever else it could be if it kills me."

"If you keep at the pace you're going now, it just might." D smirked as Taizu's eyes widened a fraction. Still slightly smug after confirming his thinly veiled threat was received, D smiled when he heard the door of the pet shop open. Rising to greet the new customer, the Count found himself freezing in place when a familiar voice rang out in the hall.

"Hey D! You in here?"

Taizu scrunched his brows at the introduction of a new voice, in English no less, but it was D's reaction that confused him more than a random foreigner. The Count had frozen in place as if he had seen a ghost, even the man's eyes had widened slightly. The man was so shocked in fact, he had yet to even turn around to face whatever it is had made the voice. The business man in him was intrigued by this new development. Taizu turned to the door to see a smirking blonde in scruffy closing pointing a finger at the Count's back while the other seemed to be holding an equally scruffy pack. Shifting his eyes back to the other Chinese man, Taizu questioned him softly. "Do you know him, Count?"

"The Detective?" This could not be happening. D was sure that he had lost that man in Germany! What on earth was the Detective doing here? There was no way that man could have picked up his trail so quickly. D had to force himself to turn around to confirm the American Officer was indeed standing in his parlor pointing an accusing finger. D found himself at a loss for words as he gaped at the intruder.

At the Count's switch to English, Taizu made note to start putting pieces of information together in his head. If that other man was a detective, than maybe he could get Count D on a foreign charge and have him shipped out of the country. Whatever the case, this man caused the un-touchable Count D to freak out and that made him valuable. Things were about to get very interesting in Chinatown, that was for sure.

"Thought you could lose me for good, didn't you!" Leon reminded himself to thank the old man bat-thing later if he ever saw him again. The horrified look on D's face right now was worth every day of travel and searching since he left home. "Well now I finally got you and you're not getting away this time!"

As the harsh, cocky voice of the Detective filled D's ears again he felt an old aggravation returning to his blood. His look of shock settled into his constant polite smile. He couldn't lose control and strangle the Detective while Taizu was present in the room, after all. The man didn't need any more ammo to use against him. Count put his hands together at his waist before addressing Leon Orcott. "My Dear Detective, what a surprise. It's been such a long time since we've last talked."

"Yeah, no thanks to you!" Leon shouted and was nearly giddy inside. He hadn't realized how much he missed fighting with Count D. He dropped his pack against a couch absently as he walked closer to make sure the Count was really standing there with that stupid smug look on his face. "I've been looking all over this damn planet for you!"

Taizu stood from his seat and put on his 'client face' to greet this new comer. It seemed the blonde had yet to notice him, and Rau Wu Fei was not a man who could stand being ignored. Smiling, he addressed Count D. "Count, would you be so kind as to introduce me to your friend?"

"Ah, yes of course. How rude of me." D could feel his eyes twitching. He had forgotten Taizu could be just as annoying as the Detective if he put his mind to it. The thought of summoning the Totetsu to attack the lot of them crossed his mind and helped fuel his smile. "This is Leon Orcott, a detective from Los Angeles. Detective, this is Mr. Rau Wu Fei, otherwise known as 'Taizu.' He's a respectable businessman of high standing here in Chinatown."

"Uh, yeah." Leon stuttered a little as he realized there was another man in the room. Feeling stupid for a moment for being so focused on D he let his guard down, Leon let out a forced cough to clear his throat. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, it's always a pleasure to learn more about Count D." Taizu let a tiny smirk show to the source of his current aggravations. "It's so hard to come by, almost like pulling teeth."

"Tell me about it." Leon sighed and rubbed his hair. The atmosphere of the pet shop was relaxing him. Must be the incense.

"You must forgive me for cutting our tea time short, but Taizu if you could excuse us, please?" The Count let a malicious gaze fall from his eyes. Any conversation with Leon Orcott was going to require privacy. That man had the annoying ability to make D lose his cool so easily. "The Detective and I have so much to catch up on and I feel it would bore you."

Taizu smiled sweetly, it was fake, but was still sweet. "I wouldn't mind hanging around in the least."

The Count matched his sweet smile. "I must insist."

"What's with the rush?" Taizu took a few steps around the table so he was facing Count D. "You said you didn't have anything to hide in this shop right? Or is he one of your customers that you say don't exist?"

"Are you kidding!" Leon shouted as he overheard that last bit of the conversation. The tension in the air was getting too thick for his blood anyway as it is. There was something off about this Taizu guy that Leon didn't quite like. Leon felt like the man was accusing D of something, and the cop in Leon didn't want anyone to steal his turf. "There is no way I would want to own one of his freaky pets."

"Detective." D muttered softly to himself. He should have known his dear Detective was going to turn things into a bigger mess than they needed to be. And Count D had no desire to explain the happenings of the past few months to Leon Orcott. It might take a few months in itself just to get it into his thick skull. "He's not talking about the animals in the shop."

"Then what's he talking about?" Leon looked over to the Taizu guy again as he frowned. "Do you sell other stuff in here now?"

"I have reason to believe that Count D is running a prostitution or a slave ring on my premises. I'm currently looking for proof, and as a detective I'm sure you'd want to help me in my quest." Taizu replied with a smile, that was quickly replaced by a confused half open mouth of an expression when the detective started to laugh. "Did I say something funny?"

"No!" Leon wheezed a little as he gasped for air between the chortles of laughter. "It's just, that if D had hunnies' like that for sale in this shop than I would definitely have known about it. Hell, I'd probably be his best customer! I mean sure, he's usually got a hot girl around here somewhere, but they sure weren't for sale. In fact, nine times out of ten he was hitting me over the head just for looking at them."

The Count could feel his patience wearing dangerously thin as the Detective fell back into a chair. If Taizu didn't leave soon than D was going to lose it on the imbecile of an excuse for a homo sapien in front of him. And that would just be embarrassing. "Well, it seems you've both had your fun now if I could ask you kindly to leave now Taizu, I have much to discuss with the Detective. Seeing as he's come such a long way to see me it would be rude not to give him my full attentions."

"Fine, you win for now." Taizu shrugged. If that man had really traveled all over the world to see Count D, than he wasn't leaving anytime soon. If he was staying anywhere inside of Kabuki-chou, than he'd just deal with the American later. Taizu switched back to his beloved Chinese to wish the count farewell. "Don't think this is over. I will uncover you for what you are."

"You're welcome to try." Count D smirked. "Do have a good evening."

It was quiet in the pet shop while both Leon and D watched Taizu leave the shop. The air was still a little tense, so Leon broke the waters with the first question on his mind. "So what was that about? Doesn't look like he likes you too much, there. Another one of your mafia boyfriends gone wrong or somethin'?"

The Count sighed as he heard the brash man from the couch mumble his question around a cookie. The man truly had no manners at all. Calling him an animal would only be insulting to the pets. "He has made up his mind I am guilty of certain crimes and is determined to find proof regardless of reality. In fact, he reminds me of another stubborn individual that is sitting on my couch and would you put your feet on the floor!"

Leon jumped a little as D's voice rose for that last command. Putting his feet on the soft rug under his feet he grinned a little. He was wondering how long it would take D to notice he had put his feet up. It's not Leon's fault that the Count didn't have a footstool in sight. "Nice to see you, too."

Taking in a deep breath, D headed over to the tea cart in the corner to pour the Detective a cup of tea. He couldn't help but feel old habits falling neatly back into place as he poured, despite the years in between when he last saw the man sitting in his place on the couch. Argue, pour the tea, chat, drink the tea and fight some more about summed up their relationship. For what it was, it was still rather pleasant. "You still take your tea black, I presume?"

"Yup. You're the sugar freak." Leon yawned a little into his hand. Now that he was sitting and the initial excitement of finding D was over, the jet lag was beginning to catch up with him. But, not so much that he'd forget his part of the deal when meeting with D. "Speaking, these are for you."

D looked up from setting the cup and saucer down for the Detective to see a tiny box of chocolates placed on the table. He tried to conceal his excitement at the view of the tiny treats. It'd been so long since he'd had a box! "You were in Dubai's Chinatown. You can only get these little candies from Israel."

"Told you I've been everywhere looking for you."

"So, how did you go from Israel to Japan?" Count D sat gracefully down in his own chair and took a sip of tea. "I'd think you'd go systematically and hit Chinatowns in order as you went across the map."

"That's what I was doing." Leon smirked and pressed himself into the couch back. He needed to find out where D found his furniture. "Then I got a friendly tip-off from a very reliable source. Needless to say I immediately jumped on a plane and flew here. In fact, just got off the plane a few hours ago."

"How honored I am that you'd come straight here." D felt a slight smile grace his face. That was so like the detective to be compulsive and rash. "May I ask what your reliable tip-off was?"

"Q-chan." Leon smirked when D stopped in mid sip. Man, if he would have known he'd see D's face in these contortions when he showed up, Leon would have brought a camera. "Your Grandpa says 'Hi,' by the way."

D could feel the words being forced from his mouth as his teeth grit together. Well, that clearly explained how the Detective located him. "Does he now."

"Yup, though, I told him I'd say 'hi' for him after I punched your lights out." Leon leaned his head back. "Must be more tired than I thought since I haven't done that yet. Knocking your block off was first on my list of things to do."

"I'll consider myself lucky than." The Count had never wanted to hurt his own relative so much since his Father went insane. The next time he saw his Grandfather they were going to have a stern conversation about this. "So, now that you've found me, my dear Detective, what do you plan to do? Other than punching me, I mean."

Leon leant forward in his seat and pulled his pack up closer to the couch. Unzipping it he pulled out a folder that had been kept straight between two sturdy pieces of thin wood. He held out the package for D to take. "You forgot this."

"Did I?" The Count let his fingers fall around the folder the Detective offered and opened it up to see a slightly crumbled crayon drawing. He held it tight in his fingers as memories he had shoved out of his mind came flooding back. It had been years, but that time together with Chris and everyone felt like it had happened the other day. "Thank-you."

"No problem." Leon reached into his jacket and pulled out his packet of cigarettes. He'd let D sit over the picture for a while. At least now he could tell Chris later that D accepted it back with a somewhat good reaction. It would have been horrible if D had rejected it. Tapping the back on his leg, Leon pulled out a stick and raised it to his lips. However, upon lighting his cigarette he felt a pair of mismatched eyes staring intently at him. "What?"

"Isn't there something else?"

"What do you mean?"

"You searched for me for years, all over the globe in addition, just to give me a picture your brother drew?" D waited a beat as the Detective sent him a baffled look. As the Detective began to look more uncomfortable and began to squirm in his seat, Count D couldn't help but bust into laughter himself. "Of course you did. When you set your mind to something you really do, don't you Detective?"

"Shut up!" Leon could feel his face turning red and he wished he was two inches tall. No make that miniscule, he wanted to disappear. And damn that D for laughing! "It's not that big of a deal."

D calmed down and smirked at his cute little pet. To be honest, he was glad Leon didn't seem to be holding grudges, but D figured they'd be having a more serious conversation soon enough. "So, I take it you really didn't think about what you'd do once you'd found me and given me the picture, have you?"

"Hey! Give me a break!" Leon took a vicious drag on his cigarette. "I had two goals, okay? Give you the picture and knock your lights out! Sue me if I didn't make it past that."

"You wouldn't be you if you had." D tilted his head into the couch and found himself relaxing. He shouldn't enjoy the Detective's odd company as much as he did. This was one of the reasons he had to leave Las Angeles, but maybe for right now it'd be fine. "It would be out of character."

"Yeah whatever." Leon took a sip of tea and muttered into his cup. God, he needed some sleep. "Maybe I missed the damn incense and tea a little, too."

D smiled as he watched the Detective's eyes droop a little as he drank from his cup. He wondered if the Detective had intended to say that last part outloud. "Didn't get much sleep on the plane I take it?"

Leon shook his head a little as he tried to wake himself up. Falling asleep on D's couch after claiming he wanted to deck the guy wouldn't be the brightest of ideas. "Screaming kids."

"Ah, well I promise you I will still be here tomorrow if you wanted to retire for the night." Count took a small sip from his cup of tea. "I have a feeling at this point if you had any reason to believe I'd leave, you'd never get out of this shop."

"Damn straight." Leon mumbled while scratching his arm. "I just hope I can find someplace to stay before I fall asleep on my feet."

D paused for a moment and took in the sleepy detective's form again. "You really did come straight here from the airport, didn't you?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Leon held in a yawn and willed the caffeine in his tea and the nicotine in his cigarette to start working. Tolerance was a bitch. "Got off the plane, spent an hour trying to find Chinatown, spent over an hour trying to get here, than wandered around until I found the shop."

"It can't be helped then." D smiled softly and stood up. "Why don't I set up a room in the back for you to use. I don't think you'll have much luck as you are finding a place, not to mention I doubt you know any Chinese. Or do you?"

"Not a word." Leon sent a suspicious glance towards the back of the shop. "Though I think my chances might be better surviving somewhere else. I'm half surprised something hasn't tried to eat me already. Where the heck's the goat, anyway?"

"T-chan is off in the back somewhere taking a nap I believe." D chuckled. "I'm sure he'll be angry he didn't get to rip you apart when you walked in the door."

"See, this is why I should just find a hotel." Leon stood up and stretched. "Assuming you really are going to still be here, 'cause if you aren't I'm totally going to just sleep on your couch."

"Yes, I will be here. I give you my word." D walked over to his telephone stand, his robe flowing around his ankles as he moved. A few graceful flicks and he had a dial tone waiting for someone to pick up. "Well, if you won't take me up on my offer I guess I can do you this service."

"What are you doing?" Leon hated how hard it was to focus. Maybe sleeping on the couch wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"Calling you a reservation in a lovely hotel down the street, followed by a cab call." D chuckled. "You're swaying, Detective."

"Thanks." Leon shoved his hands into his pockets. He tried to listen in on D's phone call, but found himself unable to pay attention. Before he knew it, the Count was already at his side with that same little smile on his face. "Done, I take it?"

"Yes, everything's been arranged. Here, why don't I walk you down to the cab to make sure you get there." D smiled a little as the Detective yawned yet again. "As much as I hate to admit, it is good to see you again, my dear Detective."

"Yeah, maybe I'm glad to see you, too, or something." Leon picked up his bag and followed D out of the shop. "This place you called, it's not expensive is it? I'm kinda short on cash."

"You're always short on cash." D laughed. "The owner is a client and is doing me a favor, so don't worry for your bank book."

"Ha, should have figured as much." Leon smirked and for the first time, felt truly relaxed. It was good to have things back to normal, if only for a little bit.


	3. Chapter 2

Hey, here's the next chapter. It's a tad short and sort of rushed – but I got it done. Forgive any glaring spelling errors or the such, I was trying to finish and post this quickly considering I was supposed to be doing other things. Heh. Poor Raising Kouryuu, it was so close to getting an update, too. Curse you PSOH and stealing my attention in the middle of writing other fics! 

Edit: Fixed a typo here and there.

**Chapter 2**

Leon groaned a little as the sunlight floated down onto his face from the window. He shoved his face into the soft, feathery pillow in an attempt to block out the offending light. As he snuggled in deeper, the thought briefly crossed his mind that he didn't own a pillow this soft. When said thought jolted Leon out of his pleasant slumbers, he found himself in a room that he didn't recognize. As his breath slowed, Leon slowly remembered D escorting him to a Taxi that dropped him off in front of a really ritzy hotel. Leon blushed as he recalled the really, really cute hostess that had come out to greet him. And the other cute hostess that took him up to the private suite he currently inhabited.

The detective fell back into the soft blankets and wondered what time it was. Considering his jet lag, for all he knew it was two in the morning or ten at night. Well, it was sometime during the day anyway considering how much light was filtering into the room. Or something. His brain wasn't ready yet to start calculating times of the day. He yawned again into the pillow and considered getting up. As comfy as he was, he really did need to go see D and sort out whatever it was that was left unfinished.

Assuming D hadn't lied and his shop was still sitting where Leon had left it.

But this was an awfully soft bed.

After a good ten minutes more of telling his legs to move, the signal from his brain finally made contact and Leon found himself tumbling out of bed. Hell, even the carpet was soft in this place. He should just move into this room and stay here. It would definitely beat the park benches he had been using. Standing up and stretching, Leon took a good look around the giant room and wondered just what kind of a favor this guy owed D. This room had to have cost a fortune!

Finding the time to be around two in the afternoon, Leon continued his day with a quick shower and dressing in the clothes from his bag. After discovering the room key on the dresser, the detective wandered out of the luxurious suite and made his way downstairs to the elevator. Leon was fully prepared to go confront D about whatever they needed to talk about and he did have a few questions he wanted to ask. Like where the hell D went after the boat event. Or what was up with the pets in that place for starters.

Or more importantly – why the hell the guy couldn't be bothered to send a letter or something if he was still on earth.

Taking his first steps outside into the afternoon streets of Kabuki-chou, Leon found himself whistling a bit. Despite all his frustrations about the Count D and everything he entailed, a good night's sleep and the lack of stress from looking for that bastard deity did wonders for one's health and state of mind. And it seemed to be a nice evening to boot. The lovely ladies that had just walked by had nothing to do with it either. An even bigger grin adored Leon's face as he turned the corner towards his favorite pet shop.

He was sure that last girl had winked at him.

-----

_You know, Count. If the detective being here is getting you this frazzled, I could always eat him._ T-chan yawned as he sprawled out over the couch. That damn human always set off his buttons and T-chan really couldn't figure out just why that was. It either was because he liked him, which there could be no chance of, and it was bothering him for even thinking it – or it was because that bastard put D in such weird moods. _Seriously, it would save us all some trouble._

Frazzled? He wasn't frazzled was he? D wiped off the small tea table for the fifth time in the past hour before staring at his rag. He had been rubbing hard enough to flick off little bits of the wood varnish. Maybe he was just a little, tiny bit frazzled. "I'm sorry, T-chan. I'm fine, really. There will be no need to eat the Detective."

_Unless he shows up drunk again!_ The little badger giggled as the Count started blushing and wringing out his cleaning rag. Pon-chan smirked a little as she turned towards T-chan and shoved her man-eating friend in the side. _And who are you kidding anyway? You wouldn't really eat Leon._

_Oh shut up. You don't know that!_

_Yes I do! You like him!_

_I do not! There's no way I'd like that idiot!_

_Then why do you always bite him when he show's up?_ Pon-chan widened her grin. _And why do you always sit under _his_ chair or near _him_ when he's here?_

T-chan blushed a little and growled to cover it up. _Because I'm trying to eat him! That's the only reason I'd bite him! And I only sit near him so I can git'um if he tries anything funny on the Count!_

_Liar._ The 'tee hee' she made afterwards caused T-chan to jump her. Thankfully Pon-chan was saved when the Count grabbed T-chan and her by the scruffs of their necks.

"Could you two, maybe keep it down a bit? I'm trying to think." And D was thinking. His dear Detective wasn't as much of a problem as the Count had originally thought. The Detective would always be the Detective, after all. He was more than sure he could handle this situation, and was fairly certain depending on how things played out over the next few days that he could turn it into something rather pleasant. However, that wasn't to say there weren't problems that D could foresee in the near future.

It was Taizu that was the issue.

D was sure that if his dear Rau Wu Fei got in contact with his Detective, alone, that things would be very, very bad. His little pet wasn't the brightest light bulb in the bunch, and D was sure that if Taizu wanted information - he'd get it. He was sure the Detective would never tell him anything intentionally, but Taizu was crafty when he wanted to be. Worse, he probably equaled the American in stubbornness. "I wonder where the Detective is, anyway? I figured he'd be busting down my door by now."

_He's probably sleeping._ The totetsu flattened his hair down as he sulked on his new seat after the Count had put him down. T-chan rolled over and started giggling though as amusing thoughts hit his mind. _Or he got distracted. Kabuki-chou does have a rather large Red Light district. And he is a pervert._

D scowled viciously at the Totetsu. "I'm sure that the Detective is behaving himself."

_Just keep telling yourself that._

Pon-chan plopped herself down onto the ground and brushed herself off before looking at the door. _I'm more surprised that Taizu hasn't shown up yet. He's almost at the point where he shows up as much as Leon did back in Las Angeles._

"That just means he's up to something." D sighed. Thankfully, D wasn't given another chance to sigh as he heard the front bell door ring. As T-chan leaped off the couch and ran past into the main foyer, the Count didn't need to hear the shout that followed to know the Detective had finally made his appearance. He wasn't sure who T-chan was trying to kid. Most of the pets were as found of the Detective's company as he was, most of the time anyway.

"Get the hell off you, little goat bastard!" Leon kicked at the savage little beast clinging to his leg. That really smarts! "I missed you too, now let go."

"I'm rather surprised you would miss that, my dear Detective." D chuckled as his amusing friend continued to try and pull T-chan from his leg.

"It kept me on my toes, what can I say." Leon growled as he finally gave one final shake. The little monster let go, but Leon swore that it stuck its tongue out at him. He nearly returned the favor when his other leg was hugged rather tightly. He tried not to wince at the contact. As much as Leon hated to admit, his leg was still a little sore when it was jolted too hard. "Well, hello to you too, Pon-chan."

_Yay! You remembered!_ The little European badger grinned as Leon picked her up to pat her on the head. She gave him a big hug and held on as tightly as she could. She had always liked Leon and Chris a lot and it was great to see them again. She would have rather seen Chris, but that just meant she had to hug Leon for the both of them.

"Yeah, yeah. You're still cute." Leon set the little lady down on the ground before turning back to D. "It's still weird seeing them as animals again after that boat. Them lookin' like humans is still stuck in my head."

"Ah yes, that is true." D smiled softly and slowly removed the scarf from the top of his head. The Detective could have at least had the intuition to wait until after D had cleaned himself up before making an appearance. "I'm rather surprised that you can't see their other forms after that event. But it has been a few years, you may have regressed without my guidance."

"Regressed? What the hell."

"It's a lovely evening, Detective. Don't you think? Why don't we go out for dinner? I'm ill prepared to be serving you since you've arrived so suddenly."

"Hey! What's with the subject change?" Leon could feel his blood start to rise. The Count knew how to press all of his buttons with that smug attitude. "I thought we were going to talk."

"I thought it might be more prudent to talk over dinner." The Count smirked as he watched Leon started twitching in the corner of his eye. It was really too easy. "Or have you already eaten?"

"Fine, we can go to dinner." Leon looked off to the side with a huff. "I was getting a little hungry."

"Good then, it'll be my treat."

"Hey! Knock that shit off. We'll go dutch."

"Don't be silly, you couldn't afford where we're going." The Count was sure he could see smoke coming from the Detective's ears and it made him smile a bit. "Now let me go change into something more appropriate. Why don't you keep T-chan and Pon-chan company for a bit?"

"Whatever, I swear you're such a woman."

Leon tried not to wince when the tea cup hit him in the head.

_You're sitting next to him._ Pon-chan teased.

The Totetsu stared at her for a moment before realizing that he was indeed sitting in the seat next to that idiot blonde. To save face, he kept his reply limited. _Oh shut up._

Leon stared at the two animals and had to rub his ears. He could have sworn he heard them say something. Not that he'd find that weird now, but still. Thankfully, Leon didn't have to wait long for the Count and was impressed. Considering the swanky outfit D had changed into, he would have assumed that took a few hours to put on. "Whoo, don't think I've seen that one before."

"It's new." D smiled and was internally grateful the Detective had noticed the new outfit. He had bought it last week in one of, ironically enough, Taizu's shops and had yet to wear it. This seemed as good as night as ever to show off a couple thousand-dollar cheongsam. "Though, I am surprised you noticed. I thought you said all my 'dresses' looked the same."

"It'd be kind of hard not to notice. There's a whole lot more embroidery on that thing than usual and it's got a nice pattern."

"Ah, it's so nice to know you've gotten a little culture in our time apart." D laughed slightly as he reached for a cloak. As the sun was setting it was getting a tad cooler. He walked out of the door knowing that Leon would be following close behind. "And do watch your language while we're out. I know we're speaking in English, but that is a rather common language, even here."

Leon was indeed following the Count, but his temper was flaring slightly. Who did he think he was to order him around like he was a pet? Oh well, he wasn't happy about it but that was okay. Granted, it was a pretty sweet deal getting a ritzy meal without paying a cent. The walk was nice and Leon found himself reaching for a cigarette to accompany the beautiful weather. "I'll say what I want, I'll have you know."

"Of course." D looked up into the night sky and felt that slightly nagging feeling come back to tug at his ribs. He had always enjoyed his time with the Detective, and it still bothered him. Though, not nearly as much as it had when he first realized it that one Christmas long ago. "Ah, here we are."

Leon had to whistle as he looked up at the heavily ornamented building. "You know, I take it back. You go right ahead and pay."

"I thought you'd say as much. Shall we?" D took a step back to allow Leon to enter through the doors first. It may have been one of the most expensive restaurants in town, but it did have a very nice selection of vegetarian dishes. But more importantly, it had atmosphere and private tables. Their conversation wouldn't be well to be overheard by curious ears.

A waiter arrived fairly quickly the moment D was spotted in the doorway. Leon should have been surprised that they were escorted off to what looked like the ritzy section of the already rich interior, but he'd been around D enough to know better. They took a seat in a booth, were handed menus and a curtain was drawn to enclose them. He still wasn't used to that VIP feeling that came with being in the Count's company. "Still making connections, I see."

"It's the only way to get anything accomplished, I feel." D smiled and lifted the menu while watching the Detective over the top. Apparently Leon was having issues. "See anything that looks good?"

Leon frowned and made a show of poking the menu with his finger. "You know damn well I can't read this thing."

"Shall I order for us both, then?"

"Do what you like. Just make sure there's some meat." Leon put his elbows on the table and leant to one side. The elder Orcott decided now was as good a time as ever to get things down to business. "So, what was the deal with the boat, anyway?"

"I thought you had figured out that it was the pet shop." D set the menu down and crossed his hands in his lap. The Count should have known the other man would get straight to the point. And he was hoping for a bit of small talk first, for once. "Manners, Detective. Do take your elbows off the table."

"The curtain's closed and no one can see us. I'm not exactly dressed to be in here anyway, so what does it really matter?" Leon flipped his wrist to further enhance his rudeness and point at the Count. "So, your pet shop is a giant boat that moves?"

"More or less." The Count leant back into his seat. He should have known the Detective would have to be stubborn about this issue. D considered playing with the man's head and telling him that it also fit entirely in a single suitcase if he wanted it to. "Among other little tricks."

Leon was interrupted from answering the Count's vague statement as the waiter returned with two cups of tea. The Count rattled off something in Japanese or Chinese or some other language Leon didn't know, and the waiter bowed and left. Alone once again, he continued. "So how often do you move that thing, anyway?"

"It depends on the location, really. How much work there is to be done or how pleasant the area, things of that nature sum it up." D hoped that the topic would switch soon. The Detective didn't need any more ammunition than he already had. "My stay in Las Angeles was quite unusual, I will admit. I don't think I had ever stayed in one place that long before."

"Huh," Leon took a little sip of tea from the cup in front of him. It wasn't as good as the stuff D usually made. Leon wasn't sure quite how to respond, so he changed the subject slightly. "Though, one thing's been bugging me. Chris, when he saw all the animals he saw the human versions, right?"

"In the beginning, yes, he could only see their other forms. It was rather amusing whenever I'd sell a 'pet' and he'd watch a young child leave the room. Poor boy was confused for quite some time. However, he lost the ability to see them when he chose his family over the pet shop." D turned his cup slightly at the memory. Honlon still hadn't quite gotten over the loss of the young master. "I think it was quite a shock when he couldn't see them anymore."

"Yeah, doesn't help that no one, save for Sam, believed him, either."

"Yes, that was regrettable. But probably for the best, he couldn't have stayed in the shop forever." The Count looked up when the waiter delivered a plate of steaming vegetables between the two of them and set out the empty plates. The disappointed look on Leon's face helped to lighten the mood. "The meat will come later, Detective."

"Good." Leon took the spoon and served a portion of veggies out onto his plate. He had nothing against the green stuff, he was just a meat sort of guy. He still didn't know how the Count pulled off that veggie-sweets diet of his.

"How is Chris doing, by the way?"

"Pretty good, last time I checked. Him and Sam are all patched up so it's life as usual in the household." Leon spoke between bites. He was almost a little shocked that the Count had even asked about Chris. It seemed a bit off for his normally uncaring nature. "What about you? Still up to the same old tricks?"

"Like I'd admit to anything if I was, Mr. Detective. You know quite enough all ready if you ask me."

"Hey, knock it off with the 'Mr. Detective' stuff." Leon's face settled into a slight frown. Guess he couldn't keep it hidden much longer. Ah well, no time like the present to get things off of your chest. "I'm not on the force anymore."

That bit of information came as a bit of a shock, even for the calm Count D. He didn't think anything could rip that badge away from the Detective. "What do you mean? You adored being a police officer."

"I didn't pass the yearly physical examination. After failing twice they told me to just give up." Leon gave a bitter laugh. "My leg never healed right from that little survival adventure with the monsters and your old man. I was on a crutch for a good year, too. But anyway, it was either office work only or nothing. I'm just glad they somehow passed it off as worker's comp so I didn't have to pay the hospital fees."

D set his cup down gently on the table. "Oh, I am sorry to hear that, Detec…no, Mr. Orcott."

"Leon's fine." The former detective took another large bite out of the food from his plate to force a better mood. "We're friends. Really, really weird, awkward, odd ones, but friends nonetheless. And would you eat something already? You're thinner than you were before if that was even possible."

D had to laugh as he finally dug into the vegetable plate. Friends. Yes, that's what they were, wasn't it? "I guess I should be flattered you noticed my figure."

"Don't even start."

"Of course not, dear Leon. I'd hate to tease you like that, darling."

Leon grimaced and averted his gaze to a spot on the wall to avoid meeting those grinning mismatched eyes. D was such a prick sometimes. "Maybe you should just stick with 'Detective.'"

"But it has such a nice ring to it, my dear Leon. Or maybe Darling Leon would be better after all?"

"D!"

-----

"There has to be some way to use that American to get what I want out of D." Taizu mumbled to himself as he sat in his plush office chair. It was the first time that he had ever seen the Count lose his calm, smug exterior and that was his Achilles heel. This "Detective" would be D's downfall and Taizu would make sure of it.

Surely someone who knew D well enough to talk to him so informally without being beat to a pulp by that woman-like man must know something about his underworld dealings. And considering the man seemed like an idiot, D might have let his guard down around him. Taizu just had to figure out the right questions to ask and he'd find out everything.

This Count D was going to boy down at Taizu's feet and either get with the program or get the hell out of his city.

But first things were first. Taizu pressed the button on his intercom. "Get in here."

The office door opened cautiously as the secretary entered slowly. Taizu had been in a foul mood as of late. The poor man had a hard enough time as it was already. "Yes sir?"

"The Count's new blonde friend. Find out everything about him and have it on my desk tomorrow morning. I don't care how you do it, who you hire to do it, or how legal it is to accomplish." Taizu swiveled in his chair to make eye contact with the employee. "And I mean, everything. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

As the indiscriminate man dismissed himself, Taizu stood up from his chair to look down out of his window. The lights of the many hotels and streets glittered up at him and he felt his heart warm. This was his Kabuki-chou, and the Count would learn his place.

-----

"Well, that was a lovely dinner, Leon."

Said blonde begrudgingly opened the door to the pet shop for the waiting Count D and cracked an awkward smile onto his face. He really was such a woman. "No 'dear' this time?"

"I thought I'd be nice since you were such entertaining company all evening."

"Yeah, well." Leon paused as he shut the door behind the two of them. The pet shop's lights were low and the entire room at a dark sort of glow. It felt warm and comfortable. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, at least."

D faked a pout. "You're not happy to spend time with me?"

"Don't start that again." It was odd how quickly they had fallen back into their old routine so quickly. The atmosphere was even a tad lighter around the two of them, and Leon finally felt relaxed in his own skin for what seemed like the first time in years. "This is so weird."

D draped his cloak over a chair in the main room and as an afterthought, lit a lamp that was hanging low. He felt the little ambiance created a more pleasant atmosphere. "What is?"

"That it feels like we were just doing this the other day. But it's been _years_ since we last saw each other."

"And?" The Count laid a finger on the edge of the lamp and pushed. The night had been going so well, too.

"I don't know. It's just weird."

"Perhaps it is just a bit, but I think that it might be our relation to time is a little different." D's smile was bitter as it spread across his face.

"Yeah, that whole hundred years older than me thing. I guess." Leon rubbed his hair.

"If you plan to stay, Leon, why don't you have a seat?"

"Eh, it was a good night D." Leon smiled. "Why don't we leave it at that and I'll see you tomorrow or something. I'm scared if I sit down that we're going to start fighting again, and I just don't think I could handle that right now. Spirit's not in it, ya' know?"

"Of course, good night." D waved quietly as the Detective, it would be so hard to break that habit, walked out the door. Maybe it was for the best that they split on good terms for a change. They had tomorrow and the next day to fight and bicker, but for now, everything had a warm glow around it. And D hoped that it remained.


	4. Chapter 3

Bit of a short chapter, but I'm happy with it. Thanks for reading and reviewing! 

Edit: Fixed a couple typos.

**Chapter 3**

"Is this all we've got on him?" Taizu muttered as he started flipping through the files that had been deposited on his desk. It was a decent sized folder mind you, but almost all of the entries were the same. It was more like a repeating record than a brief. Taizu did his best to hold off the developing headache.

"Yes, sir." His assistant spoke plainly trying to stifle the yawn. It had taken all night to get that information and he was ready to call it a night. Well, call it a day. Either way, he was going home and sleeping after his boss gave him the okay to leave. "Everything that we could possibly find on record is in that folder."

"Then you're dismissed." Taizu waved his hand absently and flipped another page. As the man left and shut the door, the young businessman set the thick pamphlets of paper on the desk. "So, there's not much is there? A cop, mother died during birth to a younger brother who lives with his aunt and uncle, pinned every crime and case he got his hands on, save for maybe the Kennedy assassination, on a Count D, and retired from the force due to injury on the job. Other than that, they just show records of him traveling and various records of his bank accounts over the years. Wonderful."

Taizu stood covering his eyes with his hands and pulled them slowly down his face. It seems that this officer had been ineffective in catching D in the act of illegal activities for a good two years. If a man that obsessed couldn't find anything to pin on the man, things were looking grim for Wu Fei. The man turned to face his seat and studied the picture of the blonde man on his desk. Something was still bothering him about this whole escapade.

"Why would he come all the way here looking for this man? Revenge maybe? According to this chart D did seem to be the cause of his injury. And he was rather obsessed…" Taizu tapped his fingers on the desk as he muttered to himself and considered the different possibilities. D didn't seem too opposed to the detective being there. He was more shocked that the man was there in the first place than actually being offended by his company. But then again, maybe if it was revenge, Taizu could use the cop for his own needs. He didn't seem that bright, but he would have to think on that at another time. He sighed as the rapping at his door continued. "Yes? What the hell is it?"

"Sir!"

Taizu looked at the man standing in his door. The man's back was rigid straight and he looked as if someone was going to shoot him any moment. A rookie, just what he needed. "Don't just stand there, say what came to say and get out."

"Sorry, sir. I have a report for you." The younger staff took in a breath. He knew he shouldn't have taken this memo from his superior. "You were told to be notified whenever the Count D did something unusual."

"I take it he did?" Taizu smirked a little as he straightened. The poor sap seemed scared out of his wits. Taizu took pity on the man and pulled out his chair to sit down. It might be less intimidating on the youth.

"Yes. He was seen last night taking a blond American male to dinner at one of your top scale restaurants. He even requested a private seating." The youth let out a small breath when he was done.

"Is that all?"

"Oh," the young man stopped and rolled his eyes up slightly as he attempted to remember. There was one more thing he was supposed to mention and it was just on the tip of his tongue. "Ah, it was also reported that he was wearing the cheongsam he purchased the other week."

"That 237, 260 Yen one in the window?"

"That's the one."

Taizu frowned a little to himself as he rubbed his chin and found himself standing again. It was easier to think that way, especially now that he had something new to think about. "Who picked up the tab?"

"According to the report, Count D paid for the meal."

"Forgetting anything else?"

"No, sir. That's it." Or at least he hoped it was all he had to tell him.

"Then you're dismissed."

"Thank-you, sir!"

Taizu nearly laughed at the speed of which the page left his office. But, the page's nervousness wasn't the only reason there was a smile on his face. He finally figured out a very important key to this whole situation. "So, the Count must really like this Orcott fellow if he's taking him out to dinner and dressing up nice."

Plopping down into his chair again, Taizu switched on his intercom and smiled. "I'm in a good mood today, so send up a fresh coffee and cancel my appointments for today. I think it's time to inspect some of my favorite shops."

As the secretary on the other end gave her 'yes sirs' Taizu leaned back in his chair and just smiled. The detective would prove useful after all and he may have just found D's weakness. It was just going to be a good day all around, he could tell.

-----

"D! What the freakin' hell? What on earth was that for?"

"I was a fool to think that you'd learned any manners! Progress indeed! Last night was truly an illusion!"

"Illusion! Ha! You're the one who's still got a stick up his ass! I should have known the good mood would never last!"

"Why I never! At least I'm not an ignoramus!"

"What the hell does that even mean! Stop using ten dollar words!"

"Learn to read, you primate! No, I take it back! That's rude to the monkeys!"

Taizu stared at the door, hand still on the handle, as he listened to the screaming that was coming from inside the pet shop. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that was Count D screaming his lungs out. As he opened the door, he felt like the force of the yelling could have blown him straight on his back had he not been holding onto something. At least his suspicion was confirmed. Beyond the door was a flustered Count D (Taizu hadn't known that was possible…) and the blonde American who were screaming at each other in all levels of insults. It was quite the sight, that was for sure. Made Taizu wish he had bugged the shop with cameras so he could have it recorded. D flustered and angry was just too funny.

"Did I come at a bad time, D?" Taizu started with a chuckle as he fully entered the shop.

"And I'm never letting you near me…oh." Count D caught himself in mid rant before instantly replacing his face with a cool, collected smile. It took a slight hand movement to straighten out his hair before the Count deemed himself worthy to continue with polite conversation. "My dear highness, Taizu. What a pleasure to see you. Do excuse my rudeness as my dear Leon and I were having a bit of conflict of interests."

"I can see that." Taizu grinned as he shut the shop door behind him. Looking at the table he noticed an open cake box with little slices cut out. Upon closer inspection he found once slice half eaten in front of 'dear Leon' and the other piece in the same man's hair. He let his imagination figure out how that had happened. It put a rather smug smile on his face as the American continued to pout as he was ignored. "It seems that I've interrupted."

D couldn't have been more upset at the moment. Not only was the detective being more aggravating than usual, but now Rau Wu Fei was here to make matters worse. It was tiresome being so very popular. "Don't be silly, care for a cup of tea?"

"Sure, why not?"

Leon stared as the other man entered and sat down in a plush arm chair. He was still tense from the fighting and confused. How the hell did D always manage to change his demeanor so quickly? He huffed a little and plopped down into the couch. He cracked a tiny smile when Pon-chan crawled along the top edge of the couch to get the cake in his hair. He shrugged a little and just handed her his plate with the nice one. As an afterthought he wiped the cake out of his hair with a napkin. Damn, D had a great pitching arm. _Guy should play baseball._

D smiled out of the corner of his mouth as he watched the little one scurry off with Leon's cake. It was a conundrum how that man always seemed to redeem himself with the simplest of actions. D stored the action away for later reference when he was particularly angry at the man before turning his attention back to Taizu. "Now, Taizu. What brings you to the shop today?"

Taizu took the cup of tea that was handed to him and took a slow sip before answering. He was in no rush today and a cup of tea did sound rather nice. "Just stopping by to say hello, today."

D smiled and stroked a finger along the rim of his cup. "You must forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

Taizu shrugged. "You'd be justified, I guess. I must confess, I'm here due to a bit of gossip."

"Oh?" D cut another slice of the scrumptious cake Leon had purchased. It was a shame his original slice had to be sacrificed, but enough tea cups had been broken already on that man's head. And D knew which store Leon purchased the delightful treat from so retrieving another cake wouldn't be an issue either. "You do know how I love gossip. Please do share."

Leon wanted to bash his head into a wall. This was so boring! He tried to make a pillow at his back more comfortable, but it wasn't working. He just couldn't relax after getting all worked up. Usually these fights would end in exhaustion and all the energy would get released. Today, thanks to that guy in the suit, he was all pent up and had no where to put it! He let out a huff of air and leaned his head on his arm. Maybe he could tease T-chan or something. That would be a good way to vent.

"It seems we're boring your friend."

"Hmm?" D looked over at Leon as the man continued to pout like a child. He chuckled a little and took a bite of cake. "Leon was never one for gossip, but I am. So do please, continue."

"He might care for this bit of gossip." Taizu caught Leon's eyes before he continued. "As it concerns him as well."

"That so, buddy?" Leon mumbled and turned his head ever so slightly. "And what might that be?"

Taizu set his tea cup down on the table. "That you and D were seen last night on what seemed to be a rather pleasant date."

"Date?" Leon spluttered. "What the hell? There was no date. We just ate dinner!"

D rolled his eyes a little at Taizu's current tactic. Getting the detective, Leon, flustered wouldn't help him with his cause. It would just aggravate things around the shop, though he wouldn't put that past the other man. "I must agree, despite appearances it was a friendly occasion. We used to go out for meals all the time together back in the states."

Taizu smirked. "Did you always put on your new, expensive outfits for those meals, too? You've never dressed up like that when we go out for 'friendly' meals."

"I have always thought we fall under the category of lord and tenant, more so than friends." D narrowed his eyes. "And it was a nice night, I felt like sprucing up. There's nothing more to it."

"Of course." Taizu chuckled. "How did that cheongsam fit by the way? I hear Mao always does wonderful work with his tailoring."

"It fit like a glove." D sipped at his tea. "I'm sure dear Leon will agree that I looked ravishing in it as well."

"Like hell I'm answering a statement like that." Leon huffed and glanced in Taizu's direction. "And why would you care so much anyway?"

"No reason. Just finding out everything I can. You'd never know what can be used as evidence in a case." Taizu smirked.

Leon raised an eyebrow and scratched at his elbow. "You still on about that thing you were talkin' about the other day? The slave trade thing?"

"Something like that."

D smiled pleasantly. "I'm sure Leon would be happy to vouch that he in his two years of my company never found anything so incriminating in this shop."

"Ah yes, you did call him 'detective' the other day." Taizu smiled pleasantly before pushing his glasses up on his face. "Are you on vacation?"

"Yeah, 'something like that.'" Leon narrowed his eyes a little. He didn't like where this conversation was going. "Just visiting D for a bit."

"I'm glad, it is always good to meet with friends, don't you agree?"

"Sure," Leon replied. He stood briefly to stretch his shoulders out a little before pausing. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

D tilted his head to the side slightly, letting his hair fall over a corner of his eye. "Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to feel a bit like a third wheel. I'll catch you later, D." Leon waved a little.

"Ah, if you must." D frowned inwardly. Leon had only been there for about an hour before Taizu had shown up. He was looking forward to messing with the Detective's head a bit longer. "I'll have to see you later, then. Maybe you could come back for dinner?"

"Maybe." Leon pulled out his pack of cigarettes and played with the top of the box as he pulled one out. "But for now, I think I'm going to just walk around for a bit. First time in Japan, after all."

Taizu grinned. "Well, if that's the case, why don't I show you around?"

"That's okay, I think I'll be fine on my own, thanks." Leon frowned. He had to wonder why that guy looked so happy all of the sudden and so eager to help. "Don't bother yourself."

D stood up. "Yes, Leon will be quite fine on his own. But if you happen to be bored, those lovely ladies at the dance hall have a performance in a little bit and I'm sure they'd love for you to attend."

"That's, quite all right." Taizu coughed into his hand. The last thing he needed was another night with those man-woman things pawing at him. "Well, since I seem such a bother I'll leave. I just stopped by to say hello, in any case."

"Ah, well do drop by later then." D waved politely as Taizu nodded and started heading towards the door. Leon was looking rather confused with his cigarette hanging in his mouth. It was clear that he couldn't tell if he should leave still with Taizu on his way out or to sit down again. It was rather cute.

Taizu was deterred for today, and he had missed his opportunity to be alone with the ex-detective. But that was alright, he'd just have to find some other way to get the information that he wanted. D and his little pets couldn't get the best of him forever. With that in mind, Taizu turned to give a short wave before fully heading out the door.

"Well, that was weird." Leon summed up his feelings in that single sentence.

D chuckled slightly. "Why don't you sit down Leon and we can finish the cake."

"Sure." Leon walked slowly back over and sat down. "He always come over?"

"Only by a slightly lower frequency that when you used to visit."

"Ah, gotcha'" Leon smiled a little. "So what was this about ladies in a dance hall? You holding out on me again with the women, D?"

D was thankful for his wonderful acting skills. Or he would give himself away with a rather nasty smirk, or burst out laughing. "Yes, they're quite talented and serve a mighty nice fruity alcoholic beverage if you're interested?"

Leon grinned and slapped his good leg. "Now you're speaking my language. Let's go!"

"After my cake."

Leon tried not to let the idea of seeing so many pretty ladies show on his face. D could have his cake 'cause Leon was going to get some, too.

-----

"They were what?"

"Men."

"You're pulling my leg."

"I'm not, dear Leon."

"But, damn. They had some of the best looking…"

"Language."

"Shit." Leon pulled out a cigarette as he stood on the street corner next to D. He needed it. "They're damn good at that crossdressin' thing. I'll give them that."

D nearly laughed. "I'm a little disappointed. I was expecting a much more violent reaction."

"Ha ha." Leon smirked and took a slow drawl of smoke. "I've seen weirder. And I should be used to hang'in around men who look like chicks by now…oww. You didn't have to hit me so hard!"

D stuck his nose up and crossed his arms in front of his body as the two continued their walk down the night street. "Forgiveness, my hand slipped."

"Yeah, like I'd believe that." Leon smirked. "Wow, now that's nice."

"What is?" D turned to see what had caught Leon's eyes. As he looked up all he could see were lit signs. "The displays?"

"Naw, that. In the window." Leon pointed to a building slightly to the left. "Next to the monkey suit."

"The television with the store ads?" D rolled his eyes. "I think you'd be more benefited by the tuxedo. You'd look good in it."

"Psh, I hate wearing those things. But you gotta' admit that screen is pretty sweet."

"No, Leon. Ice cream is sweet. That is only a further extension of a somewhat worthless piece of technology." D turned around quickly before Leon could answer with something mundane and put a finger to the man's lips to seal them. "Speaking of, why don't we go get some?"

Trying to speak around D's nail, Leon managed to mutter out a "some what?"

"Ice cream." With a smirk D released Leon's face and turned happily to head to his favorite shop in the neighbor hood. He didn't need to tell Leon to follow, the man would come on his own.

"Hey! Wait up!"

See? It was nice having someone predictable around. And it was always nice to end an evening on a pleasant note. Ice cream was a wonderful invention. Maybe he'd have chocolate today.

"Are you even listening?"

"Hurry, dear Leon. The night won't stay young forever."

"D!"


	5. Chapter 4

And here's chapter 4 after such a long wait. I rather like the ending of this chapter – so I hope you all do as well. Oh, and to Izzu – fixed some of the typos in earlier chapters. This one shouldn't be as bad considering I didn't post it at three in the morning like the others. Heh.

A note on pairings: Most likely this'll be as canon as I can make it with a slight embellishment – which means you'll probably see more one-sided DxLeon as the story progresses.

In any case – thanks so much for reading and reviewing! It really makes my day!

Edit: Fixed a typo. Gosh darn it. XD

**Chapter 4**

Count D stroked T-chan's fur softly as he sipped his tea with a free hand. His highness Rau Wu Fei had decided to let them be for the moment and D, for one, was enjoying the peace and quiet around the shop. Well, the relative peace and quiet that was around the shop. Leon was currently sitting across from him fighting Pon-chan for a piece of cake and making a ruckus. Not that this was anything more than entertaining considering how often it occurred. Even T-chan was snickering softly to himself as he sprawled out along the Count's lap.

_Guy's a moron._ The Totetsu yawned into D's thigh and let out a contented sigh.With the jerk of an American hanging around, the Count had been in a really good mood lately. But, he still had an image to maintain. _Should throw him out for all noise._

D rapped a knuckle on T-chan's forehead for the rude comment, but his chuckle betrayed him. It was nice to see even T-chan loosening up around Leon. He was hard to hate when he wasn't being a pompous boar of a man. Though, as amusing as that was, D still had a few things he needed to get straight with his dear friend. "Are you alright over there, Leon?"

"Yeah!" Leon grit through his teeth as he tried to hold his cake away from Pon-chan. He wondered if Chris had to put up with this theft of food while he stayed in the pet shop. That might explain why the kid was so scrawny! And considering that Leon was currently getting all of his food from D due to limited funds and had no intention of loosing his manly physique: he wanted his cake! "Hungry though."

D chuckled pleasantly. He and the detective had not had a fight in a few days now and he was enjoying their time together immensely. Not to mention it was a riot watching Leon and Ra Wu Fei go head to head. His highness wanted information and Leon was too dense to pick up on it. In the end, the poor businessman only succeeded in aggravating Leon and starting a few one-sided shouting matches. However, his human guest had been staying put in the shop for quite some time now, and D was curious to just how long it would continue. Not that he particularly minded. It kept him from doing more drastic measures to keep the man's company and he enjoyed feeding the man. "So, Leon. Do tell me how long you plan to stay in Japan?"

"Not sure, actually." Leon chuckled as the little badger finally wrestled the cake away from him. She was a resourceful little thing, that was for sure. He watched her munch on the piece of cake and lick the frosting off of her paws. He tried desperately to see that little human girl with the blonde curls again, but it just wasn't working. Leon rubbed his eyes and turned back to the Count. "To be honest, I never really thought I'd find you so I never thought about what I'd do after I did. This whole search the Earth thing was supposed to never end. Granted, I am sort of glad it did, even if I don't know what to do with myself."

"That does seem like you." D smiled coyly while clinking his cup in its place on the saucer. He reached over T-chan's back to set the cup onto the table. "But I assume you'd been at least thinking about the future since you've been here?"

"A little, I guess." Leon slunk back into his seat and watched Pon-chan eating her spoils. She had now settled into his lap to eat the cake and he scratched behind her ears absently. If he had been Chris or D it probably looked like he was ruffling the hair of a small girl, but Leon could only guess that's what they saw. Leon was sort of glad that he couldn't see that. The idea of a little girl in his lap was weird and wrong. A large-chested bikini blonde maybe, but not a tiny girl in curls. "I'm not sure what I can do. I guess I have to find another job, but I'm not qualified for much."

"Have you thought about going back to school? You're not that old, yet."

Leon tapped the side of his head. He didn't need to be told that he wasn't the brightest in bulb in the bunch. Intuition didn't do so well on tests that aren't multiple choice. "I don't think I'm up for school. I'm not quite up for failure again."

"Well, maybe you are not giving yourself enough credit?" Leon glared straight at him and lifted an eyebrow. The pet shop owner scratched T-chan's ear as he stretched out along the couch. He bit his lip to keep from smiling too widely at the pout on the detective's face and the look of Pon-chan content with the last bites of his cake. "Alright, alright. Maybe we can think of something else. What are your strong points? Other than being stubborn?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Leon snorted. Ignoring D's attempt at making him feel better with light teasing, Leon reached for a tiny pastry off of the dish in between them. D actually had some really good cakes in the shop today; they weren't as sweet as usual. Almost had a cinnamon, spicy, blend to them. "I'm still in shape, pretty much. I could always stock shelves or something. You know, heavy lifting and stuff."

"Hmm." D hummed to himself before taking another sip from his cup. For some reason he couldn't see Leon doing manual labor all the time; it didn't seem fair to him. Especially since his knee still bothered him. If the man had any manners he'd suggest he work as a host since he was rather dapper when cleaned up...but then again he didn't need to put the detective around such temptation. Best to let things run their course. "Well, you're welcome to stay until you find an alternative."

"Thanks, D." Leon stretched after wiping a bit of crumb from his mouth with a thumb. He had discovered the finger sandwiches under a platter cover and was now more content than he had been. Leon was still hungry though; finger foods did not a meal make. He threw his one arm over the back of the chair while his free hand continued to pet the little badger. "Ah, this is nice. I could totally just take a nap."

"Well, it is getting late." D looked up to an ornate clock sitting on a shelf. "It's almost eight, now."

"Are you serious?" Leon looked over to the same clock. He had walked in around noon and just started talking to D about nothing in general. Had he really been in the shop for eight whole hours? "Wow, talk about time flying."

"Indeed."

"No wonder I was so hungry."

D laughed and the sudden startle caused T-chan to glare at him. The totetsu slunk away from D's lap and headed towards the back of the shop with a pout. Perhaps they were being too loud for him. "Are you still hungry? A late dinner wouldn't be out of the question if you're interested."

"Actually, that sounds kinda nice." Leon grinned and rubbed under his nose. His stomach took that moment to cue a growl in agreement. He stuck a hand over top of it and pretended it hadn't happened. "But can we go somewhere that doesn't cost twenty to thirty dollars a plate? All this rich food is starting to spoil me."

D pondered that for a moment. It was hard to find good vegetarian dishes at fast food and more middle class restaurants, but he supposed Leon was starting to feel guilty from accepting all the charity. Even if D was rich enough to pay for it, the other man still had a pride streak. "I suppose that would be alright. Any suggestions?"

"Someplace that serves burgers."

"I should have known."

-----

Ra Wu Fei leant back in his chair looking out over the city. The sun was long gone behind the shadows of the buildings and the lights glittered under the clear sky. Taizu leant his head into his hand and let out a breath. His mind was clouded with various thoughts, but he was mostly thinking back upon the last few days and his wonderful failures. With not only the Count but now his blonde boyfriend as well.

So far, he was pretty sure the Count had sold two women and one small child over the past few days. He couldn't prove it, but he could have sworn he watched those people exit with people and not animals. However, upon further exploration he found two cats and a small rabbit in the homes of the buyers. There was some trick to this; there had to be a trick or the businessman really had no explanation for what was going on. Taizu gripped his fist. He'd figure out just what was going on in that pet shop if it killed him.

Sadly, his lead with the blonde American, Orcott, had proved a useless venture. The man was too stupid to tell him what he wanted to know. Stupid and loyal; a dangerous combination. The businessman turned back to his desk and licked his lips. Not that he hadn't tried oncountless occasions to get information out of the man. The moment the Count came up in conversation he'd clam up and switch the topic. And when Taizu pressed for more information, he'd start a fight; Taizu rubbed his chin from where the man had nearly decked him. If the businessman wasn't so used to people coming after him, that would have been one painful hit to the chin.

Though, that brash loyalty could be used to his benefit.

If the man wouldn't talk, that didn't mean he couldn't use the blonde in other ways to get what he wanted. Ra Wu Fei smiled to himself and tapped his finger on his desk. Yes, that could work just as well. Maybe even better than trying to wring water from a rock by talking to the detective. Taizu could feel his IQ dropping every second he spent in that man's company. And he was _always_ at the Count's. It was like he lived there. Taizu snorted to himself; he could definitely use that blonde to get to the ice-queen count.

-----

"Oh for goodness sake." D moaned as he held his eyes in his hands. He still could not figure out how the detective talked him into eating at a fast food restaurant. They were sitting at a corner booth in a tiny crowded building and D was questioning the other man's sanity. It was dirty, it was loud, the food was mass produced and frozen and it was cramped. How could he possibly prefer this to eating out someplace nice? At the very least, to D's one pleasure, he chose an eating establishment that served salads. However, that did nothing to mask the other man's public eating habits. "Darling, Leon, could you please try and at least eat with some dignity? They can hear you eating in America and you've got ketchup on your lip."

Leon licked the corner of his mouth to remove the offending condiment. He brushed it with the side of his thumb to make sure it was all gone. "Lighten up, will you. No one cares." Leon took another bite of his sandwich and tried to chew slower and softer. D was nice enough to not complain about his choice of restaurant so he could behave a tiny bit. After swallowing he tagged on an afterthought. "And knock off that 'darling' crap."

"Oh, but whatever for? Come now, Darling, it suits you."

"I'm serious." Leon spoke around french fries. "It's really starting to bug me. It's worse that that 'my dear detective' stuff from before."

D shrugged and finally dug his fork into his salad. He supposed he owed the poor greens a taste. They died for his consumption so he should at least give them the benefit of the doubt. He winced slightly after tasting but let it go; they were edible at least. In any case, Leon owed him a dessert. And something nice that didn't come from a fast food restaurant. Maybe a torte or a sweet bread; a slice of chocolate cake with rich frosting sounded heavenly as well. Granted, D wasn't permitted to entertain his dreams of sweet desserts for long.

"Hey! Are you listening?"

"What was that, Leon?" D smiled at the pouting man. Darling Leon didn't like being ignored; how cute. "I believe I 'zoned' as you'd put it for a moment."

"I was asking if you wanted to see Chris." Leon crumbled up his foil sandwich wrapper into a ball and set it on the table next to his soda. He'd been meaning to bring the subject up for a while, but never felt comfortable enough to do it. Being surrounded by the crowed of people and familiarity of fast food gave Leon the boost needed to ask. "Like go visit him or have him come here, or something." Leon's last few words were mumbled.

D set his fork down on the table and crossed his fingers together. It was easy to tell that Leon was embarrassed about asking by the red adorning his upper cheeks. As much as much as he would like to see Chris (not to mention Pon-chan and T-chan would be thrilled), he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. "Are you sure we should get his hopes up?"

"No, I mean." Leon groaned and ran his hands through his hair over the top of his head. "Just a visit with him knowing it's just a visit. So he knows you're okay and didn't just drop off the face of the planet." Leon averted his eyes to a dirty corner of the restaurant where a french fry lay abandoned and dirty. "He was really worried about you. And he's older now so I'm sure he'll understand things better."

"Well," D hummed. He weighed the pros and cons of this in his head. There was no way he could leave the pet shop. Who knows what his highness Taizu would do if he were to be absent for an extended period of time. Not to mention the consequences of Chris getting attached again. But, maybe if Chris understood that it was just a visit it would be alright. Besides, dear Leon probably missed the lad himself. Who knows when the last time he actually went to visit his family was; if he remembered correctly they weren't too fond of Leon. "I suppose he could come here for a visit. If he wanted."

"Really?" Leon perked up like a large dog. He hadn't actually expected D to agree; he was just throwing it out there. Leon felt the need to clarify just in case this was some sort of cruel joke. "He can come visit?"

D cleared his throat and picked up his fork again. He suddenly needed something else to do with his hands. He plucked a tomato from the green lettuce bed; it was sour. "On the condition he understands it's a visit only and that I'm not coming back."

"Yeah, totally." Leon smiled and finally went for his drink. He hadn't realized his throat was so parched. The caffeinated beverage went down smoothly and his throat appreciated the attention. "Chris'll be ecstatic."

"I'm sure." D crunched a piece of old lettuce. Leon definitely owed him a dessert. "How are you going to get him here?"

"Auntie and Uncle." Leon grinned and crossed his arms on the table. "They've been planning a big vacation for some time off in the next few weeks. I figure I'd drop off the suggestion of Japan and then beg and plead if they didn't go for it."

"If that's the case, I can recommend some nice hotels." D put his fork back down. He'd given it his best; but that salad was barely edible. "And some good family vacation sites so it's not just me they're coming to see."

"Yeah! That'd be great."

D watched Leon grin and felt warm inside. It was nice to see the man smiling so naturally for a change. He looked younger again; D was finally starting to notice the extra wrinkles now that he'd had time to study his face more. They didn't look so bad when he was happy; Leon looked more mature. "Well, not that's been settled, why don't we leave this horrid establishment and go find a place that sells decent desserts?"

"It wasn't that bad." Leon laughed and started to clear his trash onto the tray. "Though with as little as you ate, I'm sure you're still hungry. I guess a pastry or something could help that along."

"A nice pastry."

"If anythings' open. It's past nine." Leon checked his watch before picking up the trash littered tray. D put his half-eaten salad on top of the pile and pushed out from the table; somehow managing to keep his outfit clean down to the tips even if the floor and chair were a bit dingy. Must be part of that whole earth-spirit-god-thing.

"If not you'll owe me double tomorrow." D smiled coyly and waited for the blonde to deposit the trash in the proper receptacle.

Leon lit up a cigarette the moment they were out of the shop. Those no smoking signs were really a pain sometimes. He inhaled the nicotine deeply and blew out the slivers of smoke slowly. It did wonders to warm the body on a cool night. He turned to D who was just behind him before pulling the smoke away from his mouth. "So where's this late-night bakery of yours?"

"I'm not sure, but I've got a few desserts back at the shop that need tending." D looked up at the bright moon and was reminded of some of their times back in Las Angeles. It was a lovely night. "But for now, why don't we go for a walk?"

"Sure." Leon walked beside the shorter man and noticed just how comfortable it felt. In fact, the past few days had been really nice. They hadn't yelled at each other or fought or had to deal with crazy pets attacking. They mostly just sat together quietly, and Leon liked it. But, before he could think about just what that meant, his attention was caught elsewhere by a very pretty sight.

D frowned when he realized the Detective, Leon, was no longer following behind him. He turned to see the man stopped on the side of the street staring intently at something. His eyes were lightly glazed and he had a smile on his face. That D didn't put there. At first, D felt pangs of jealousy when he thought Leon was looking at that harlot of a woman on the roadside to his front. However, his eyes softened and he smiled when he realized Leon wasn't looking at the woman. He was looking at something with far nicer curves. The Count found himself walking back to the man's side to lean next to his shoulder. "You really do like flowers, don't you?"

"Wha?" Leon jumped a bit at the man's face in such close proximity to his own. He'd been staring at the plant so hard he didn't notice the other man slink over. The man had that all-knowing smile on his face and D _knew_ that he had scared the blonde. Leon grasped his printed-tee with his hand as his breathing evened out. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, but that is a very lovely specimen." D smiled. "I can see why she'd catch your attention. You always did have a thing for flowering plants."

"Shut up." Leon mumbled as he started turning red. It wasn't his fault he liked plants. It was all D's fault with that first plant! Gattolotto. Leon really missed that plant; he wished D would have told him what he did wrong to kill it. She really was a beauty- either way that wasn't the point! D was to blame for this whole unmanly flower thing. "I don't have a thing for plants."

D laughed at the other man's face. He was red as a beet and it was a delightful mismatch to the angry pout that had contorted his face at being caught. "Of course you don't." D gave the little plant with it's soft green leaves and baby blue petals one last glance before turning back to Leon. His eyes matched the plant's petals. "Let's be on our way, shall we? I'm in the mood for a nice slice of blueberry pie."

"Pie? Now you're talking." Leon shoved his hands in his pockets and cocked the cigarette to one side of his mouth. He gave the plant one quick little glance before he trailed after the man in the dress.

Okay.

So maybe Leon liked plants. That didn't make him any less manly! Nope. Not one bit. Men could like plants.

"Hurry Darling Leon! I'm going to get jealous if you keep all your attention on the foliage!"

"Shut up, D!"


	6. Chapter 5

It's short, but I like how this chapter turned out- a transitional chapter if you will. Secondly, it hasn't been proofed so don't bother pointing out typos and mistakes. I might proof it later, but right now I just want to upload this chapter since it took so long to write what little I churned out. But enough of that – Thanks for reading and reviewing! And as always – gotta love Leon and D. (And please stop picking on Taizu- he's actually really cool. I just need him as an antagonist in this fic.)

**Chapter 5**

Count D sat quietly in his parlor sipping a cup of warm tea and listened to the breathing of his pets as they lazed about in these early hours. He had finished his morning chores just a bit ago and was enjoying the peace and quiet of the shop in that lull between when morning duties are performed and when the first jingles of his door bell rang. As he took another sip, D realized that his morning might be getting more active than he had hoped. "Grandfather, how nice to see you."

The elder Count chuckled and threw back his hood as he strolled into the room to sit across from his grandson. "How have you been?"

"Very well. How's Father?"

"As fussy as ever. He's currently playing with some animal friends and enjoying his time away from a smothering Grandfather." The Count chuckled and watched his grandson thoughtfully. He was rigid and the twitch above his eye was barely noticeable, but it was there. Seems his little D had yet to forgive him. "I take it the present I sent made it successfully?"

"Present? I don't recall you sending anything recently, Grandfather." D glared when he heard a sudden chuckle come from the corner of the room. It seems T-chan and Pon-chan had woken from their nap.

"Oh?" The older man chuckled and coughed into his hand before looking down at the cups of tea. His grandson put on a deep frown and poured him a cup of tea and shoved it across the table. Yes, he was mad. "Don't tell me you didn't like it? I thought for sure you'd like seeing him again."

"He's been his usual annoying self if that's what you mean." D snorted and looked off to the side as Pon-chan started to stretch and play with T-chan's tail. "He's still loud, brash and has no manners."

"But you like his company." The Count D sipped at the cup of tea thoughtfully. "And do not lie to me. I can tell."

D did not answer. It was true; his grandfather could tell when he was lying. And the truth of the matter was – Count D did enjoy the company of the human Leon Orcott. He had always enjoyed his company even when they first met all those years ago and gave birth to a dragon together. He liked the way the Leon smiled. He liked it when the man cracked jokes or got embarrassed when he became aware of his own shortcomings. Hell, Count D even liked the way he smelled and the earthy tobacco and smoke that clung to his frame even in the midst of the shop's incense.

"Your silence speaks volumes, my grandson." The older D finished his cup of tea and sat it down on the table before standing. "Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing and to see if the Detective actually made it here like he said."

"Yes, he's been here for a few weeks now."

"Seems right at home, doesn't he?" The grandfather chuckled and started to walk towards the door. "I'll check in on you later."

"It was nice seeing you, Grandfather." D stood as well to walk his grandfather to the door. His polite smile was no where to be seen on his face. "I do hope you stop by later."

"And D."

"Yes, Grandfather?"

"For once, I shall not condemn you for interacting so closely and for so long with a human." The mysterious count smiled. "I rather like this one, too."

D stared at the door as his Grandfather disappeared as mysteriously as he arrived. The visit was short, but it had made D think. Think about just what he was going to do with darling Leon Orcott. The man wasn't going to stay there forever; he did have to leave at some point. "T-chan."

"Yeah, Count?" The Totetsu hung his arms over the side of the couch and watched his master carefully. "What do you need?"

"Go fetch my apron, I feel the need to clean the shop."

T-chan almost snorted. The Count only cleaned when the shop didn't need it when he was distressed or thinking. That Leon Orcott was more trouble than he was worth. "No problem."

-----

"Its good that I caught you on your own. I'd been meaning to talk with you." Taizu smiled as he trotted up alongside of the blonde detective. Through his sources, he had found the hotel that D had been putting his American friend up in and been watching him for a few days now. While he hadn't got the man's schedule down exactly, it was a stroke of luck that he happened to be walking by at the right time to catch him. Taizu was thankful his earlier meeting got out early. "You're not busy are you?"

"Uh." Leon answered intelligently as he stared at the man in the suit that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The ex-Detective had barely made it two feet out of the hotel door fully intending to go see D for lunch to be interrupted. "Talk about what?"

Taizu tried a disarming smile as he walked down the street next to the other man. The affection between the two men was obvious so he would have to play his cards carefully. "Well, I was hoping you'd know by now that I'm very interested in your friend, Count D."

"Dude, if you want a date with D you should just ask him." Leon looked in his coat for his cigarettes, smirking when the other man frowned and started to twitch. He really wanted his smokes to deal with this man. And the conversations were always about D! Did this guy have nothing better to do? "I've seen him date mafia guys before."

"Not that sort of interested." Taizu smirked and loosened his tie. He knew where this game was going and took full advantage. He hit the blonde where it hurt. "I have no intention of stealing your little boyfriend."

"He's _not_ my boyfriend." Leon grit his teeth and turned to the suit with a frown. Leon started walking back towards the pompous man with a pompous smirk and shoved his finger in his chest. Leon made sure to put on his best 'bad cop' act that he had perfected. "What is your deal?"

The business man took a deep breath and held his hand to his eyes. This loyal puppy was going to be harder to crack than he anticipated. The jab at him dating D clearly hadn't helped either. The affection he saw in D's face was probably one-sided. And the detective was rather dense; he probably hadn't noticed. Instead, maybe honesty would work in his favor; for once. "Let's just put all our cards on the table, hm? Shall we go somewhere more private and have a nice chat about Count D?"

"There's noting to talk about." Leon started looking for his cigarettes again. His search earlier was brought to a pause and this Taizu guy was making him crave his nicotine. "If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

"That man is an eye-sore in my Kabuki-chou." Taizu clipped and stood up straighter. The blunt approach seemed to be up next. "He needs to go."

Leon paused and looked back at the other man. He saw something there that reminded him of himself. Of a man who spent two years going to see the Count every day looking for anything he could grasp. This Taizu had the same determination that Leon once had for his own desire to arrest Count D. That desire that turned into an obsession and landed Leon in years of searching for the man. Leon flicked his lighter open and stared at the light burning; his unlit cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. "You really want to know something?"

"Anything you're willing to give me." Taizu smiled at the man's considerate face. It seems that small bit of honesty really could give him the information to get rid of D. he should have thought of that sooner. Charisma and careful wordplay was wasted on straight-forward people. "Anything to give that man what he deserves."

"Drop it now while you can and just forget about D." Leon smiled bitterly. He finally pulled the light up and cupped the end of his cigarette as it lit. The lighter clicked softly as he replaced it in his pocket and looked up to match the man's eyes with his own. "You'll feel better about it in the end, and you can't win. D's bigger than you and me." Leon took a drag on his cigarette. "Bigger than we'll ever be."

-----

"Something wrong, Count?" T-chan asked lazily as he stretched on the couch; his clawed hand scratched at his open stomach. The Count had been in a dull mood all day. The Totetsu had a good idea what could be causing the mini-depression, but he didn't like to think about it. "You've been doing that cleaning thing since your Grandfather was here. Is what he talked about still bugging you?"

"Don't be silly, I'm fine." The Count waved his manicured hand over his shoulder as he wiped down the table again. T-chan was making a fuss over nothing. The shop was dirty; he was cleaning it. Simple. "Leon just leaves more of a mess than usual so I have more cleaning. He's such a bother and my Grandfather merely reminded me of that."

T-chan lifted an eyebrow and looked at the clock. He contained the snort but couldn't hold back the tiny, knowing smirk. "He's also late from when he usually shows up."

The Count's hand stilled in wiping the table. He had known that Leon was late...was that really why he was so off beat? Couldn't be. "So he is. I hadn't noticed."

_Bingo. _T-chan thought to himself. This was definitely about the ex-detective and his absence from the shop. Nothing else seemed to affect the normally stoic and in control individual that was D. And considering what his grandfather said earlier, it was probably a bigger problem than T-chan was hoping. "I'm sure he's just sleeping in or something."

"Why would you say that?" D frowned. His Totetsu almost sounded reassuring; like he was trying to keep D from worry. Which was absurd. D wasn't concerned about what Leon did when he wasn't in the shop. He enjoyed his company yes, but the Count certainly didn't own Leon. "Do I look like I'm concerned?"

"Yes." T-chan rolled onto his feet from the couch and stretched his hands over his head. "You've been getting jittery and off lately when that idiot American isn't around."

"I, I'm just concerned for his well being, that's all." D snorted. "We all know he can't take care of himself and he's very far away from home. I'm the only one who can do it without Chris or Ms. Jill around to look after him."

T-chan started to curl a knowing smile onto his lips. He knew exactly what the Count really wanted. As much as he hated the detective (no matter how much Pon-chan said otherwise), he made the Count happy. "Well, if you're so _concerned_ about him, why don't you make sure you can _always_ keep an eye on him?"

D paused to think about what T-chan had just said. It was true, he could take other measures to make sure the detective was cared for just like the rest of his pets. But how would those efforts be received? Would Leon's company still be worth it if he hated the Count? Either way, they were thoughts best ignored.

"Hey, D!" Leon's voice echoing through the shop seemed to startle the effeminate man as he jumped and turned to face the blonde. Leon rose an eyebrow and pulled his cigarette free from his mouth with a small puff of smoke. He smiled at a single strand of loose raven hair flying away from his head from the jump. "Are you alright? You look kinda' spooked."

"I'm fine, of course, Darling Leon." D smiled brightly and forgot all about his previous worries and inner arguments. It was actually difficult to have those thoughts when the man was in his presence. D shoved the inner voice of his Grandfather teasing into the closet. "You're running late today, please have a seat. I'm sure you're hungry since it's just after lunch."

"Yeah, actually." Leon walked over to take a seat and crossed his fingers together. His shoulders were hunched as he stared at the tea cups still sitting on the table. They were empty, but still set out like they were expecting company. He licked his lips and ran a hand through his loose hair. "That'd be nice, D."

The Count noticed immediately that the detective was not looking like himself. Leon was lacking energy, like there was a great weight down on him and he was too tired to continue holding it up. D walked over quietly and set the saucer of cookies down neatly next to Leon's right hand before picking up the kettle. He spoke softly as he poured the tea. "But what about you? Dear Leon, you look ill."

"Oh, I'm fine. It's nothing." Leon tried to force a laugh but it didn't come out quite right. He had been in a low mood all morning, and running into Taizu certainly didn't lift his spirits any. It had made him think too much about why he was here. Being with D made it so easy to forget just what he was and how much of Leon's life had been invested into that man. A man who in the end was going to disappear again just like before. And then what would Leon do? "Just a little depressed, that's all."

"Whatever for?"

"Chris can't come visit." Leon slowly reached for the tea to take a sip. He didn't feel like drawing this conversation out so he told D the bare facts in a few swift sentences. And it helped him smother the other thoughts about his own life and future. "After you said it was okay the other day, I got excited and called home. But they said no and told me that if I informed Chris where you were they wouldn't even let me see Chris anymore."

"Oh, that's too bad. I know you were looking forward to that." D smiled softly and sat down next to the blonde. The source of his depression was now very obvious and understandable. D reached for a cookie off of the plate; he had enough tea for the day. "I was actually fairly happy about getting to see him myself."

"Yeah, sorry for getting your hopes up." Leon covered the top half of his face with his hands and took a breath. He cursed when the cigarette fell out of his mouth and into his lap. "Shit."

"Here, let me get that." D picked up a napkin and reached over to pick up the cigarette and the fallen ashes that had spread themselves over Leon's thigh automatically. He frowned when the ashes started to rub into the fabric. D licked the napkin and rubbed it a bit to get the stain out of the fabric. "I swear, you're hopeless."

D had his hand on Leon's thigh and his hair under Leon's nose.

The blonde American's brain had officially shut down with the overload of information. D never touched Leon so carelessly; certainly not to wipe off his lap. He didn't sit close to him either. Hell, Leon was still kicking himself for being so depressed in the first place to not notice. His first instinct was to throw the man off and jump up, but the nerves and connectors just weren't working from the shock.

"There." D smiled and sat the napkin down on the table and patted Leon's spotless thigh. "All clean." However, when D looked up, he was greeted with the wide, frightened eyes of Leon Orcott. He looked positively terrified of something. "Are you alright?"

"Uh." Leon swallowed and reached for the tea. "Nothing."

_You're practically in his lap, Count._ T-chan mumbled from his spot on the chair across the room. Those two had been in la-la land and forgotten him. The Totetsu snorted. _I think you've scared him stiff._

D froze and looked down at his hand still firmly on the other man's leg. It was also at this point in time that D realized his body was flush with Leon's own and their proximity was quickly becoming suffocating. D quickly gathered himself and stood quickly to walk away. His grandfather had shaken him worse than he originally thought. "What would you like to eat? I was thinking of ordering something in instead of going out."

Leon breathed a sigh of relief when his brain started working again. When D touched him; his brain shut down. He pulled out another cigarette to calm his heart. Things were getting way too weird in the shop. "How about deli?"

"That sounds good. I know a place that serves the most delightful brownies with their meals."

T-chan rolled his eyes and stretched on his back on the chair. He studied the now nervous Count D and the idiot with slit and calculating eyes. A ball had just started rolling, and the Totetsu prayed for anyone who got in its way. If they were lucky the shop would still be in one piece by the end of it. _Order me some turkey while you're at it, Count._


	7. Chapter 6

Ha, got my groove back for a chapter. This is the first one I've been happy with for quite some time. Maybe it's because Taizu actually has a fun role for once and he gets a little edge on Count D. Anyway, Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Chapter 6**

"What on earth are you doing?" Taizu asked openly while walking into the shop. There were papers scattered everywhere and both the detective and D were sitting at a table with their sleeves rolled up, pens in hand. The badger was playing with a red pen in the corner on discarded papers and the goat was gnawing on American's leg at the ankle. Leon either didn't notice or didn't care. But, the detective looking scruffy seemed appropriate, but the Count with his sleeves rolled and in an apron and hair bonnet was just too much. He looked like a maid. "It's a mess in here."

"Ah, Taizu." D looked up from his place in the chair. Taizu was staring at him and D almost blushed when he realized he was still in his cleaning outfit. His highness was reminding D of Leon more and more every day. The man was stubborn, persistent and he was now among the few who had seen D out of his cheongsam. D needed to stop adding to his collection of human pets. "What a pleasant surprise, do sit down for a cup of tea."

"If I could find a spot." Taizu mumbled and looked at the couch when Leon absently shoved over some papers for him. Taizu found it odd that the man would be hospitable after their confrontation the other day, but he decided in this random chaos he'd call a truce. He had done it before with D after all. The business man shuttered when he remembered the chase around town for that Kappa. "Thank-you." Taizu took the offered seat and finally took a good look at the papers sprung around the room. "Classified ads?"

"Dear Leon is looking for a job." D added with a bit of distain in his voice. While he did agree the detective needed to get out and do something other than sit in the shop (while D enjoyed his company, it was unhealthy), but this job thing was too much. The Count didn't mind paying for Leon in the slightest. The man didn't need to work, yet a week after the _incident,_the man barged in with a stack of newspapers declaring D was going to help him find a job since it was D's fault he was out a job in the first place. As if D had planned for his father to kidnap the detective, really. "Apparently he feels he's abused my hospitality."

"Oh shut up and don't start again." Leon mumbled as he marked out another entry in Red. He had used D's charity plenty when he used the hotel connections to get a bunch of American newspapers so he could look for his job at home in the good old states. Leon was starting to miss Los Angeles more and more now that his big hunt was over and done. Besides, D could say he didn't mind all he wanted, that didn't stop Leon from feeling weird about borrowing all that money. "I'm sick of being a freeloading lump."

"And that's the case in his own words." D chuckled and marked out a few more entries on his own end. Leon may be qualified for construction work, he did have the hard head already, but D was still adamant the man find a job far away from the spectrum of physical labor. His knee was bad and while the man worked like an ox, D would prefer it if he didn't break his back for pennies when he had the potential for more. The man had some schooling and years of experience, just because he took a few years off to go on a crazy search around the world for Count D doesn't mean he should be turned away for interviews. "How has your day been, highness?"

"About average, actually." Taizu shook his head and lifted up a paper. There were tons of little X's and O's marked all over the printed ink. He did also, however, notice that the jobs Leon circled were the ones the Count put X's through on his own copies, and vise-versa from a quick glance. Amusing, the detective didn't think he was cut out for educated labor and the Count was pushing him away from normal work. Actually, it looked like D was hardly approving of any jobs for the man. Maybe, D didn't want Leon to leave? Taizu suddenly smiled and crossed his fingers under his chin. "Well, if he just wants a temporary job in the meantime before he finds a 'career' in the states, I'm sure I could help with that."

Leon looked over at the business man. He kicked at T-chan to get him off his leg so he could pay more attention. The goat sulked and hid under the couch. "Really?"

"I do own quite a few establishments. It wouldn't be difficult to put you to work in one of them, part time or full depending on what you want for now." Taizu chuckled, but inwardly his brain was working. Leon had warned him against his measures against Count D, but having the man under his employ would mean he could keep a much closer eye on him. For someone who practically lived in the shop, surely he would see the illegal activities D had going on. Unless he really was that dumb, but Taizu liked to believe otherwise. "And I can even put you in a place where they speak English."

"Seriously? That'd be great, for now." Leon answered with a touch of excitement. The fact it was Taizu offering the job raised suspicions, but they were nothing compared to the chance to have a real reason to avoid the pet shop. For the past two days, D had been acting just plain _weird._ He was touching Leon more and had taken to sitting next to him on the couch instead of across. It wasn't horrible as it was just touches to the shoulder or the occasional pat on the thigh, but it was starting to weird out the ex-detective and yesterday he made up his mind that some distance between the two of them might fix things. It'd go back to when Leon was on the force and only visited D when he was out of work and back to normal. "What would I be doing?"

"How would you feel about being a store clerk?" Taizu offered and tossed the paper he had been holding down on the table. "We have a down-town shop geared for tourists that needs a few people to speak English to cater to the guests. They haven't advertised their need for help just yet, but I do know they're going to ask for more sometime this week."

"So I'd be selling stuff?"

"More or less." Taizu snuck a look over at D who also had sat down his paper and pen. The man had started to pull off his hair cover and apron; D's eyes locked with his for a moment and the slightest threat was behind those mismatched eyes. Someone was protective. "Or mostly answer questions. All of the register work would be handled by locals so you'd only have to work the floor."

"Sure, I can do that." Leon laughed and gave his good leg a slap before rubbing his nose. He shouldn't be this excited, but Leon really missed working and making something of himself. "I've always been a people person, right D?"

D snorted and started to stack papers. On the one hand, D was happy that Leon was finding a job that was in Kabuki-chou instead of the states. When dear Leon mentioned getting a job back home, D had been upset that the man was leaving so soon. He'd only been there for a little over a month. On the other hand, it was his highness Rau Wu Fei who was offering the job. The man was up to something again and D was getting tired of these shenanigans. Really, Leon was bad enough in his glory days. The Count didn't need Taizu picking up the slack. "Only when you're sober, darling Leon."

"Hey!" Leon huffed and helped D collect the papers. Taizu was smiling softly, clearly amused by their antics. Leon pouted and decided to ignore the smug Count for the moment. "So anyway, when could I start?"

"How about tomorrow?" Taizu reached down over his side to grab a loose newspaper that had floated to the other side of the couch. He dropped it on top of the ever growing stack and smirked at the growing ever angry Count. "I can show you the shop and give you a schedule and pay rate. I'm thinking of maybe a 30 hour week so you could still look for a job at home in the meantime?"

"That's really rather kind of you, highness." D added with a smirk. "I hardly considered you the charitable type."

Taizu smirked and adjusted his glasses. "That's because you only get to see my bad side."

"Than I should be honored by this sneak peak."

"Yeah, yeah." Leon rolled his eyes. "Enough of the fake formality already. It drove me crazy when it was just D doing it." The man stood and stretched his arms over his head. He let his arms settle on his waist and smiled. It was a good thing Leon knew the best way to get on everyone's good side. "It's lunchtime already, so let's get something to eat."

It was D's turn to roll his eyes. "I swear, darling. Food is all you ever think about."

"And women. Don't forget them." Leon laughed as D coughed into his hand with a disapproving frown. "What can I say? I'm all man. Food, sex and sleep is all I need to keep going."

"Animal you mean." D tapped the papers ferociously onto the table as he straightened them. "I swear, those carnal desires are going to be the death of you."

"It'd be a good way to go."

_D is jealous._ Taizu thought to himself as he watched the two begin to bicker. The first time he had caught them fighting, he was shocked. After a few weeks around them Taizu realized it was commonplace for D to squabble with Leon- and for good reason. The man was head-over-heels falling all over the mangy American. Taizu smirked and decided to make sure there was a busty lady working with Leon at the shop. If he couldn't reveal D for the low-life slave trader he was, than he could at the very least push the man's buttons.

-----

"Wow, this place is nice." Leon whistled as he walked into the shop behind Taizu. He was dressed in a new, crisp black suit that D had picked out for him. Both Taizu and D insisted that he get a new wardrobe for working because his jeans and printed tees weren't appropriate. And suddenly Leon agreed with him. The blonde swallowed and loosened his red, diamond printed tie as he took in his surroundings. "Shit."

The shop was huge and spanned at least two floors decked out from head to toe in every sort of trinket a tourist could possibly want to get their hands on – only in a spacious setting with plush carpets and decorated shelves. There was jewelry off in one corner, vases in another, figurines, dolls, and other little fancy knickknacks. There was even some animal statues along the front counter to compliment the already ornate registers. It was a junk shop for the rich. Leon walked over to a shelve and took a look at the price tag. The very, very rich.

"I'm glad you approve." Taizu bit his lip to keep from laughing. Unlike D, this man apparently was not used to the rich life. Taizu actually found that a bit odd, even if the man had been lower middle class with his past job. "I'm surprised you look so out of place. I'm sure D dragged you with him to all sorts of high life events."

"Yeah, he did." Leon stood back up and looked at the man. "And I felt out of place at every single one. Like that ballet he took me to- I was bored out of my mind. Hell, for one he made me an accomplice on rigging a horse race! Me! The cop! I'm still pissed about that one."

"He rigged a horse race?" Taizu rose an eyebrow. "What did he do?"

"Had me blow some whistle to root on a horse." Leon rubbed his head. "The horse we were rooting for was deaf or something so it didn't hear it and go crazy. I thought it was just a normal whistle, but the second I blew it all the horses went nuts. I convinced myself it was a coincidence for weeks before I came to terms with what happened."

"That does sound like something a pet shop owner would know." Taizu smiled. "And you didn't turn him in because you would also have to turn yourself in, I take it?"

Leon laughed nervously. "Something like that, and I guess it was for the best. The girl who owned the horse worked really hard and it was a good horse, or something..." Leon started to trail off. "But anyway, I'll be really working here?"

Taizu nodded. "That's what I said. Have a little faith in me, I am a businessman at heart and I do keep to my word."

"Good to know." Leon smiled. "Where's everyone else?"

"The shop doesn't open for another twenty minutes yet, I'm sure they're in the back." Taizu started walking down an aisle. "I figured I'd show you around a bit first before introducing you."

"Sounds like a plan."

Leon followed Taizu around the shop and made mental notes in his head. Red tagged items on shelves were reproductions and the customers were free to pick up and touch them as they wanted. Green tags were originals and were not to be touched unless an associate was present (an associate trained to handle antiques, not Leon) to assist. Expensive or rare items were usually behind glass or on a separate stand with information cards and a name tack. All in all it was pretty straight forward and Leon would mostly be repeating that information to guests.

"Ah, and here they are." Taizu paused in the middle of explaining the wonders of the jewelry security system when he noticed the time. It was time for Leon to meet his new co-workers. One by one they filtered in from their lunch break and Taizu could litereally see Leon's jaw drop. This was going to be even better revenge against D than he originally thought. "Let me introduce you to your new floor clerk. This is Leon Orcott."

"Woah." Leon was going to like working here. From the sound of amused giggling, Leon decided he was really, really, going to like working here. How could he ever have thought bad of Taizu? The man was a saint! "I uh, mean. Nice to meet you."

-----

"What's up with you?" T-chan asked the Count. The man was at it again, but instead of going on a cleaning frenzy, he was in a rage. The man had an aura of anger surrounding him and even the pets were avoiding him. It was times like this where the Totetsu was happy he was a favorite. "You should be happy Leon's at work, 'cause now you can give out proper contracts without worrying about him interfering. Besides, the man comes here straight after work to bitch anyway."

The Count shoved a freshly signed contract into filing cabinet with a bit more force than necessary. It was true, he had been neglecting his duties due to dear Leon's constant presence. Selling normal pets for weeks had let him get slack, but now that he had more time he could go back to punishing the unjust. However, D was more concerned about other things than the deaths of ignorant humans. "I'm not worried about Leon having a job. He's been at that shop for a few weeks already and he's doing just fine."

T-chan smirked and started drumming his fingers along the fabric of the count. When he spoke next, he tried to keep his voice innocent but he was sure the sarcasm was coming through. "Or maybe you're just worried about his co-workers."

D stiffened and put on a very fake, bright smile to hide his sudden anger. T-chan was starting to cross a line that he should not. Stupid perceptive little Totetsu. "Now why would I worry about that?"

"I don't know," the Totetsu inspected his claws before pull up the belt on his pants and snuggling into the couch. "You always get so twitchy when he talks about Ms. Yoshiko."

D closed the filing cabinet with a slam.

"Or Ms. Cali."

D stalked towards his tea cart fully intending to pour a cup of tea.

"Or Ms. Miao."

A very large cup of tea and he cut a slice of chocolate cake.

"Or we can't forget the wonderful Ms. Haruka who the detective has yet to realize is really a man." T-chan paused. "He went on about her for hours because she was hitting on him at work, remember?"

D slammed his palms onto the top of the cart and snarled. There was a great silence that went over the pet shop as every animal within sight of D disappeared to hide. The Count was pissed. "Damn that Rau Wu Fei! He did that on purpose! I know it!"

"Now, why would he do that?" T-chan smiled slyly. "Put Leon to work in a shop with an all female (more or less) staff? And they're all so pretty and willing to flirt with him, too."

"He's trying to get under my skin." D poured a cup of tea angrily and sipped it while still standing at the cart. He felt like he was taking a short of bourbon. In fact, this was almost an occasion to actually break into his liquor cabinet. D did just that and spiked his tea. The detective would have been proud of him drinking something stronger than oolong. "And it's working."

"So you're finally admitting it, then?" T-chan stretched out on the couch full length and watched the count intensively.

"Admitting what?"

"That you're jealous."

"Don't be ridiculous." D snorted and walked over to sit in his comfy chair. He needed to relax and catch his breath before he frightened any more of his precious pets. "Jealous? Hardly. I'm worried for his well being and state of mind. Clearly those girls are only flirting because Taizu instructed them to do so. There's no substance and the potential for him to be hurt is great."

"I doubt the detective cares as long as he gets some." T-chan rolled his eyes. "This is Leon we're talking about."

"I'm sure the man has some standards."

"Blonde and large chested?" T-chan emphasized his point by cupping his hands around his chest suggestively.

D frowned and ignored the Totetsu. He had no idea what he was talking about. D was only worried for the man's well-being. That was all. D enjoyed Leon's company and considered the man a friend; the rare exception to the scum that composed the majority of the human race. D thought of those women hanging on Leon's arm and flirting with him against his own will and nearly groaned. Who was he kidding? Grandfather noticed. Pon-chan must have noticed. T-chan noticed. Hell, even _Taizu_ had noticed.

D had a crush on Leon.

Which lead him to problem two- how to act upon said crush? D knew it would be futile to truly push the relationship. Leon was the epitome of masculine desires and if how he reacted to D just touching him was any indication it was doubtful he would react well to advances of the romantic kind. That and there was the issue of Leon being human in the first place. Just like Chris, Leon couldn't stay in the shop forever.

D had made up his mind long ago that regardless of what his Grandfather and Totetsu hinted for his future actions, that he would not trap Leon within the shop. Though, he was seriously reconsidering that decision every time Leon would comment on any of those, _fine_ ladies. (And D was certain if Leon fell for Haruka he was going to make a personal house call and drop Totetsu off at the cross-dresser's door step.) But that was understandable, if the Count couldn't keep Leon forever, than didn't he deserve the man all to himself while he had him?

D groaned and rubbed his head. This whole mess was driving him crazy and he really wished it was five o'clock already. These thoughts only plagued him when darling Leon was not home. When the man was here, things went smoothly and fine because for some reason Leon's presence in the shop was normal and comfortable. D took another sip of tea and willed himself to change subjects. He was getting far too close to doing something he would regret.

The door jingled and D smoothed his hair and dress. It seems he had a customer; what a wonderful way to distract himself from crude Americans and the issues they dragged into D's life. "Welcome to my pet shop. Here we sell love and dreams, how can I help you?"


End file.
